Hand-held food processor and blade assembly

ABSTRACT

A blade assembly for use with a food processor includes a hub configured to be coupled to a drive shaft of the food processor, a first blade rotatably coupled to the hub and configured to rotate with respect to the hub at least up to a predetermined angle with respect to a second blade, which is fixedly coupled to the hub. The first blade is rotatable between a first position in which it is in phase with the second blade for receiving a blade guard protecting both blades, and a second position, in which the first blade is out of phase with the second blade for optimally processing a food item in the food processor, the blade assembly also including a biasing member for returning the first blade to the first position after use.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure is generally related to food processing devices,and more particularly, to a blade assembly for a hand-heldfood-processing device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Hand-held, hand-powered food processors are known and all basicallyrotate a spindle to which is connected some form of cutting, beating, ormixing arms. Some of these processors use a hand crank for the drive torotate the spindle. The Yip U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,483 is an example. Thesetypes of drives for the spindle are often expensive, lack torque, or donot give a long enough pulse of rotation to the spindle for effectiveaction on the food to be processed.

The Yip patent, mentioned above, shows a garlic peeling and peanutshelling processor that uses a rigid beater to throw garlic at a seriesof vertical ribs spaced along the circumference of a retaining cylinderto break the skin of the garlic.

Application Ser. Nos. 09/839,027 and 11/361,061 provide hand-held foodprocessors with improved drive mechanisms; however, these devicestypically comprise a blade arrangement that is suboptimal with respectto gaining maximum momentum before confronting a food item. Furthermore,the blade is typically exposed after use.

Accordingly, there is a need for a hand-held food processor and a bladeassembly that maximizes blade momentum for more effective processing offood items, and permits automatic rearrangement of blades into aconfiguration in which the blades can be covered without a user havingto touch the blades.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a blade assembly for use with a foodprocessor, comprises a hub configured to be coupled to a drive shaft ofthe food processor, a first blade rotatably coupled to the hub andconfigured to rotate between a first position and a second position, asecond blade fixedly coupled to the hub, and a biasing member configuredto bias the first blade toward the first position such that, when thehub ceases to rotate after use the first bladed returns to the firstposition and the first and second blades are in phase.

According to one aspect, the biasing member includes a coil springhaving a first end and a second end, the coil spring being fixedlycoupled to the hub toward the first end and being fixedly coupled to thefirst blade toward the second end.

According to another embodiment, a food processing device comprises ablade assembly having a hub to coupled to a drive shaft of the foodprocessor, a first blade rotatably coupled to the hub and configured torotate with respect to the hub between a first position and a secondposition, a second blade fixedly coupled to the hub, and a biasingmember configured to automatically bias the first blade toward the firstposition, the first and second blades being in phase when the firstblade is in the first position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a hand-held hand-powered foodprocessor according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an axial cross section of the hand-held hand-powered foodprocessor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the hand-held hand-powered food processorof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial fragmentary section of a hand-held hand-powered foodprocessor according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a hand-held hand-powered foodprocessor according to yet another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a blade assembly and its cover for a foodprocessor according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the blade assembly of FIG. 6 in a firststate.

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the blade assembly of FIG. 6 in a secondstate.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of an exposed portion of the blade assemblyof FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is an exploded isometric view of the blade assembly of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is a bottom isometric view of a portion of the blade assembly ofFIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a hand-held hand-powered foodprocessor 10, which includes an axial end cup or food holder 12 (FIG. 2)fitted in an axial end housing 14. While the description of the detailsof some embodiments will be described with reference to a hand-held,hand-powered food processor, it should be understood that a peelerversion of the invention may also be used advantageously as a separatedevice for use in larger electrically powered table top food processors.

A palm grip or table support member 16 is attached to the end housing14. The support member 16 can be made of a resilient material such asrubber, and can either be held in a palm of a user when the foodprocessor 10 is being held only in the hands or can be rested on a tableor counter when the food processor 10 is used in the upright position asshown in FIG. 2. The end housing 14 is formed with a gasket 18 (FIG. 2)and a locking collar 20. The food holder 12, gasket 18 and lockingcollar 20 can be all bonded together. The locking collar 20 has lockingslots 22 that mesh with locking ribs 23 (FIG. 3) on a cover 24. Thecover 24 is thus attached and sealed by inserting the locking ribs 23into the locking slots 24 and giving a relative twist between the cover24 and the end housing 14.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the food holder 12 includes an end surface 28and a sidewall 32. A long rib 30 is formed on the end surface 28 and asmall stop block 34 is attached to the sidewall 32. The food processor10 further includes one or more arms 40, 44, 70, 72 for a desiredprocessing of the food, such as peeling, chopping, slicing, cutting,blending, mincing or any other suitable processing of the food. In oneembodiment, the rib 30 and/or stop block 34 can be positioned proximatea vertical centerline of the food holder 12. This allows food in thefood processor 10 to accumulate by gravity over the stop block 34 andadjacent the long rib 30 to enhance contact between the arm 40(described below) and the food in the food holder 12. The food is thussubjected to improved shearing action between the arms 70, 72 when thearm is a chopper (as described below) or improved peeling action whenthe arms 40, 44 is a peeling arm (also described below). One positionfor use of the food processor 10 is thus as shown in FIG. 2 but the foodprocessor 10 can also be held in other positions.

Furthermore, the food processor 10 includes a drive shaft 36 extendingthrough a collar 37 fixed to the end surface 28 of the food holder 12and sealed with an o-ring 38. The drive shaft 36 can include a radialright angle notch 43 for removably connecting to a key 45 of a hub 42that secures the arms 40, 44, 70, 72, respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cover 24 includes a uniform outerperiphery 25, which serves as a base to support the cover 24 on a tableor counter top when the cover 24 is removed from the food processor 10.In this manner chopped foods, peeled garlic, or blended liquid dressingscan be deposited into the cover 24 by removing the cover 24 from anunderside or bottom position on the food processor 10. Thus the contentsof the food processor 10 will fall into the cover 24, which can then beremoved and placed on the table or counter top for holding the contentsof the food processor 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, in which the food processor10 is configured for peeling, the first arm 40 is attached to the a hub42 and the second arm 44 is axially spaced from the first arm 40, thesecond arm 44 also attaching to the hub 40. The first arm 40 that liescloser to a widest portion or central portion of the food holder 12 andcover 24, can be slightly longer than the second arm 42. The first andsecond arms 40, 44 respectively include first and second ends 40 a and44 a that are spaced closely from the stop block 34. The first andsecond arms 40, 44 can be generally convex on their forward surface inplan view, each comprising a forward facing roughened surface 41 in thedirection of rotation of the first and second arms 40, 44.

The roughed surface 41 can include transverse grooves; however, otherroughed or textured surfaces can also be used. The first and second arms40, 44 may comprise a resilient or partially flexible material, such asan elastomeric material, which itself can be of a sticky type. Thepurpose of the forward facing surfaces is to engage the skin of the foodto be peeled, such as garlic cloves, and rub against a skin of the foodto dislodge, for example, a garlic meat from a garlic clove. The stopblock 34 serves to stop the food, for example, garlic, from freelymoving or spinning in the food holder 12. The long rib 30 also tends tohold the food or garlic and allow the first and/or second arms 40, 44 torub against the garlic so held by the rib 30.

In one embodiment, at least one arm (for example, the first arm 40) canbe rotatably mounted to the hub 42, such that it rotates a predeterminedangle α with respect to the other arm (for example, the second arm 44)before encountering a structure on the hub to prevent its furtherrelative rotation. In this manner, as the user activates the drive 36only one of the arms, for example, the second arm 44, which is fixedlyor rigidly attached to the hub 42 will pose resistance against the drive36 and against rotation of the hub 42 upon confronting the food. By thetime the first arm 40 reaches a position in which it is fixed withrespect to the hub 42, the hub 42 has gained sufficient momentum andvelocity for optimally cutting or peeling the food. In contrast, whenboth the first and second arms are fixed on the hub, they maysimultaneously encounter the food before sufficiently accelerating andnot optimally cut or peel the food.

The action of the first and second arms 40, 44 or only one arm, such asarm 44, can also successfully peel garlic while the use of two arms mayprovide an improved and more effective peeling action. The long rib 30is also not essential, as shown in FIG. 4, but the use of this rib 30may expedite the peeling process. When the rib 30 is used, a gap betweenan end 30 a of the rib 30 and confronting surfaces 40 b or 44 b of thefirst and second arms 40, 44 are preferably between 0.050 and 0.150inches, respectively. In some embodiments, the stop block 34 can beeliminated if the first and second arms 40, 44 are used in anelectrically powered food processor. When the power is manual, theshorter period for peeling is more important than if the drive forrotating the drive shaft 36 is electrically driven and can operate for alonger period of time. The elastomeric first and second arms 40, 44 canbe made of a flexible elastomeric material having a durometer of betweenShore A 60 and Shore A 100 and preferably a durometer of between Shore A80 and Shore A 82.

In one embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, propulsion for thedrive shaft 36 is provided via a unique manually powered pull cord motorhaving a pulley 48 rotatably mounted on a post 50. The pulley 48 has asquare recess 52 in which a toothed ratchet wheel 54 is fitted. Theratchet wheel 54 is biased outwardly (to the right in FIG. 3) by a discspring 56. A plurality of teeth formed on the ratchet wheel 54 mesh in adriving direction with mating teeth formed on the drive shaft 36.However, the complement teeth of the ratched wheel 54 and drive shaft 26are configured to allow the teeth of the ratchet wheel 54 to slide pastthe teeth of the drive shaft 36 upon reverse rotation of the pulley 48.The pulley 48 has a slot 60, the end housing 14 has a slot 62, and acoiled strip spring 63 has its ends fitted in the slots 60, 62,providing for a return rotation to the pulley 48.

Thus, the unidirectional rotational motion of the drive shaft 36 can beaccomplished in the hand-powered version of the food processor 10 by apull cord 65 having several wraps around the pulley 48. The pull cord 65includes a handle 66. The advantage of this pull cord type of rotationaldrive or motor is that the elastomeric arms 40, 44 are run at a hightorque and at a high velocity (e.g., over 500 rpm) for severalrevolutions (e.g., about 5 or 6) from each pull of the handle 66. Theserotations are for a relatively long rotational period. The first andsecond arms 40, 44 have little mass and thus may stop prematurely whenengaging the food in the food processor 10 unless the pull cord type ofmotor applies the high torque and long duration of rotation. Of course,an electrically powered drive motor, as shown in FIG. 5, can have a hightorque and a long period of rotational power so the duration ofrotation, high torque, and velocity needed in a hand-powered motor isless important for an electrically powered motor.

While embodiments have been described with regard to a peeler, the foodprocessor can also be used as a chopper. However, it should beunderstood that the peeler version has utility and purpose eitheralternatively with the chopper or as an independent peeler. When thefood processor 10 is used as the chopper, it utilizes first and secondarms 70, 72 having sharpened forward facing cutting first and secondblades 70 a, 72 a, respectively. The first and second arms 70, 72 arealso attached to a hub 42 that can also be drivingly and removablyengaged with the drive shaft 36, in a manner similar to that describedabove with respect to the first and second peeling arms 40, 44. Whenused as a chopper, the rib 30 has an additional function of deflectingthe cut or chopped food so that it is repeatedly tossed into a path ofthe rotating first and second blades 70 a, 72 a. This function helpsexpedite the cutting process and causes the food to be cut into smallerpieces. A combination of the stop block 34 and the long rib 30 creates ashearing action with the first and second blades 70 a, 70 b to increasea chopping speed and creates more uniform smaller chopped pieces.

The chopper can also be used as a mixer and has been found to rapidlymix oils and vinegars or other salad dressing ingredients in smallquantities. The chopper has been found to emulsify the oil and vinegarto better blend the dressing.

In the one form of the chopper or peeler, the processor can include bothchopper blades and with peeler arms so that they can be usedinterchangeably. Thus, a user can peel garlic, then after removing theskins from the food holder, add other foods and further chop the peeledgarlic, and chop the other added foods. A dressing can then be blendedfor a small salad ready to serve.

FIG. 5 shows the food processor but with a battery powered,unidirectional electric motor 90 substituted for the pull cord motor andone way drive.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another embodiment, in which a blade assembly 100is provided for a food processor. The illustrated blade assembly 100includes a blade guard 102 that is configured to fit over and coverfirst and second blades 104, 106 (FIG. 7). In FIG. 7, the blade assembly100 is illustrated with the blade guard 102 removed and the first andsecond blades 104, 106 in a first state. In the first state, the firstand the second blades 104, 106 are substantially parallel and the firstblade 104 is positioned such that it is in phase with the second blade106. For example, in one embodiment, the first blade 104 is positioneddirectly above the second blade 106 when in the first state. Asdiscussed above in conjunction with other embodiments, to minimizeresistance against initial rotation of a hub 108, the first blade 104 isrotatably mounted to a hub 108. Upon activation of the blade assembly100, the first blade 104 can be configured to rotate with respect to thehub 108 over a predefined angle α (FIG. 8), such as an angle having amagnitude of about 180 degrees, and cease rotation with respect to thehub 108 after rotating by the angle α.

Accordingly, the blades 104, 106 begin by being in phase to maximizeacceleration of the blades 104, 106, and rotate to a second state asshown in FIG. 8, in which the blades are positioned at the angle α withrespect to each other, for example 180 degrees, for effective blending,cutting, mincing or chopping. After use, the blades 104, 106 return tothe first state to allow a user to place the blade guard 102 over theblades 104, 106 after use.

In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 9, the blade assembly 100 includes abiasing member 110 that is fixedly coupled to the first blade 104 and afirst portion 112 (FIGS. 7 and 8) of the hub 108. The biasing member 110is configured to build potential energy as the first blade 104 rotateswith respect to the hub 108 and the second blade 106. The biasing member110 is also configured such that when the blades 104, 106 are activatedmanually or via an electrical motor, a rotational momentum of the firstblade 104 overcomes a tendency of the biasing member 110 to maintain thefirst blade 104 in phase with the second blade 106.

Furthermore, the biasing member 110 forces the first blade 104 back tobeing in phase with the second blade 106 when rotation of the hub 108ceases such that the blades 104, 106 automatically return to the firststate and are ready to receive the blade guard 102. Accordingly, theuser need not touch the blades 104, 106 by hand for rearranging theblades 104, 106. The biasing member 110 also ensures that the blades104, 106 begin by being in phase in the first state before a subsequentuse, for achieving optimum blade acceleration as discussed above.

In one embodiment, the first blade 104 can be rigidly attached to afirst base 114, which is rotatably mounted to a mounting shaft 116 (FIG.10) of the lower hub 108 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the biasingmember 110 can be fixedly coupled to the first base 114 toward an end ofthe biasing member 110.

The biasing member 110 can include any suitable structure thatsubstantially lacks a potential for biasing when the first blade 104 isin the first position, and builds the potential for biasing as the firstblade 104 rotates toward the second position. For example, the biasingmember 110 may include a coil spring having a first end and a secondend, the coil spring being fixedly coupled to the first portion 112 ofthe upper hub 108 a toward the first end and being fixedly coupled tothe first base 114 of the first blade 104 toward the second end.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exploded view for purposes of describing oneexample construction of the blade assembly 100. However, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that other configurations are possiblethat do not depart from the scope of the claims that follow. The hub 108can comprise the first portion 112, the mounting shaft 116, and a secondportion 118, the shaft 116 being positioned or extending between thefirst and second portions 112, 118. The second blade 106 is fixedlyattached to a first surface of the second portion 118 and the mountingshaft 116 is fixedly attached to a second surface of the second portion118, such that the mounting shaft 116 extends in a different directionthan the second blade 106, for example in a direction that isperpendicular to the second blade 106.

Furthermore, the first blade 104 is rigidly attached to the first base114, which in turn is rotatably coupled to the mounting shaft 116. Afirst structure 120 is formed on the second portion 118 of the lower hub108 b that interacts with a complementary second structure 122 (FIG. 11)formed toward a surface 124 of the first base 114 of the first blade104. The first and second structures 120, 122 are configured to allowthe first base 114 to rotate with respect to the second portion 118 ofthe lower hub 108 b up to the angle α (FIG. 8). For example, the firststructure 120 can be a boss or protrusion extending adjacent a firstportion of a periphery of the mounting shaft 116 and the secondstructure 122 can be a recess extending adjacent a second portion of theperiphery of the mounting shaft 116 and configured to slidably engagethe boss or protrusion to limit the rotation of the first blade when anend of the recess encounters an end of the protrusion.

The first base 114 further comprises a first key 126 for engaging aportion of the biasing member 110. The first portion 112 of the hub 108also includes a similar key for engaging another portion of the biasingmember 110 for winding the biasing member 110 as the first blade 104 andthe base 114 thereof rotate with respect to the second blade 106 andabout the mounting shaft 116. All components of the blade assembly 100can be removably assembled with respect to each other so that the usercan disassemble the blade assembly 100 for cleaning and/or replacingsome of the components thereof, as required.

In one embodiment, the blade assembly 100 may comprise an arm 128fixedly coupled to and extending away from the mounting shaft 116, whichcan act to counterbalance a weight of the first and second blades 104,106 upon initiating rotation of the hub. The arm 128 also adds to therotational momentum of the blade assembly 100 for expediting theacceleration thereof. Furthermore, the arm 128 can also act as a barrieror beating device for confronting and striking the food item or items inthe food processor toward a path of the first and second blades 104,106, for being processed, for example for being cut, chopped, minced,shredded, or blended.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications and non-patent publications referred to in thisspecification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet, areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of theembodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of thevarious patents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

1. A blade assembly for use with a food processor, comprising: a hubconfigured to be fixedly coupled with respect to a drive shaft of thefood processor to rotate as a unit therewith; a first blade coupled tothe hub and configured to rotate with respect to the hub between a firstposition and a second position; a second blade fixedly coupled withrespect to the hub to rotate as a unit therewith; and a biasing membercoupled to the first blade and at least one of the hub and the secondblade, the biasing member configured to bias the first blade toward thefirst position.
 2. The blade assembly of claim 1, further comprising: anobstructing structure coupled between the first blade and the hub andconfigured to limit rotation of the first blade with respect to the hubto a first angle of rotation.
 3. The blade assembly of claim 1 whereinthe biasing member at least substantially lacks a potential for biasingwhen the first blade is in the first position, and the potential forbiasing increases as the first blade rotates from the first positiontoward the second position.
 4. The blade assembly of claim 1 wherein thebiasing member includes a coil spring having a first end and a secondend, the coil spring being fixedly coupled to the hub toward the firstend and being fixedly coupled to the first blade toward the second end.5. The blade assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a blade guardconfigured to cover the first and second blades when the first blade isin the first state, for protecting the blades prior to and after use. 6.The blade assembly of claim 1 wherein the hub comprises a mounting shaftpositioned between a first portion and a second portion of the hub andthe first blade is fixedly attached to a first base, the first basebeing rotatably coupled to the mounting shaft and having a first endpositioned adjacent the second portion of the hub, the obstructingstructure comprising a protrusion formed on the second portion of thehub and a recess formed toward the first end of the first base, therecess being configured to slidably engage the protrusion to limit therotation of the first blade when an end of the recess encounters an endof the protrusion.
 7. The blade assembly of claim 6 wherein theprotrusion and recess are sized to allow the first blade to rotate up toan angle having a magnitude of approximately 180 degrees.
 8. The bladeassembly of claim 6 wherein the first portion of the hub comprises afirst key and the first base comprises a second key, the first keyfixedly receiving a first portion of the biasing member and the secondkey fixedly receiving a second portion of the biasing member.
 9. A foodprocessing device comprising: a blade assembly having a hub coupled to adrive shaft of the food processor, a first blade rotatably coupled tothe hub and configured to rotate with respect to the hub between a firstposition and a second position, a second blade fixedly coupled to thehub, and a coil spring configured to automatically bias the first bladetoward the first position, the first and second blades being in phasewhen the first blade is in the first position.
 10. The food processingdevice of claim 9 wherein the coil spring has a first end and a secondend, the first portion of the hub comprises a first key, and the firstbase comprises a second key, the first key fixedly receiving the firstend of the coil spring and the second key fixedly receiving the secondend of the coil spring.
 11. The food processing device of claim 10wherein the hub comprises a mounting shaft extending between a firstportion and a second portion of the hub and the first blade is fixedlyattached to an annular first base, the first base being rotatablycoupled to the mounting shaft and having a first end positioned adjacentthe second portion of the hub, the obstructing structure comprising aprotrusion formed on the second portion of the hub and a recess formedtoward the first end of the first base, the recess being configured toslidably engage the protrusion to limit the rotation of the first bladewhen an end of the recess encounters an end of the protrusion.